We love hearing from school clients about students eager to bring their new cooking skills home, recreating dishes for their families, and making healthy eating a habit. Over the years, we’ve seen which recipes students enjoy the most, and we’re sharing the top five favorites. The best part? These recipes are simple, healthy, and great for families to make together.
Here are five healthy recipes your students will love cooking at home!
Pasta Primavera
Pasta primavera, a simple pasta dish with colorful veggies, is a wonderful way to get students excited about cooking at home. In Italian, “primavera” means spring, referring to the fresh spring vegetables in the recipe.
We’ve taught this recipe to over 20,000 students, and it’s always our first lesson because it teaches students how to make vegetables taste really good!
Pasta primavera is as simple to cook as 1, 2, 3—boil, chop, and sauté. Just a little prep makes a flavorful meal, and you’ll only have one pan to clean in the end. This recipe is versatile; the veggies called for are onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and peas, but you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, and it will still be healthy and tasty.
Find the recipe and watch Chef Eric cook Pasta Primavera here.
Healthy Pizza with Easy Tomato Sauce and Cucumber Salad
Kids love pizza, so we teach a fun, easy version that still tastes delicious. Our secret shortcut is using pita bread as a crust and canned tomatoes to make the sauce. It’s faster and healthier than ordering a pizza for delivery and just as satisfying!
Taking only about 10 minutes to prep, this is a fantastic way to get students cooking at home. There are lots of fun combos to try, including:
- Classic Pepperoni: tomato sauce, mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, and dried oregano
- BBQ Chicken: low-sugar BBQ sauce of choice, mozzarella, shredded chicken, and sliced red onion
- Buffalo Chicken: tomato sauce, Frank’s red hot sauce, mozzarella, and shredded chicken
Make a quick and easy cucumber salad, and you have a delicious, healthy meal in no time without all the grease from take-out pizza.
You will find our Healthy Pizza and Cucumber Salad recipe instructions on the website.
Poke Bowl
A poke bowl (POH-kay) is a delicious Hawaiian dish made with rice, vegetables, protein, and a flavorful sauce. The word “poke” means “cut into pieces,” traditionally referring to raw fish. However, we’re keeping it kid-friendly by using canned tuna—same great taste, no worries!
Kids enjoy creating and consuming poke bowls due to their vibrant colors, adaptable ingredients, and enjoyable mixing and matching process. It’s like a deconstructed sushi roll—easy to eat and full of delicious flavors. They can even use cauliflower rice instead of white rice for an added veggie.
You will find our poke bowl recipe here.
Black Bean Sliders with Veggie Slaw
Our recipe for black bean veggie burgers is hands-on and easy to customize. Mashing beans, mixing ingredients, and shaping patties feel like a creative kitchen project.
Veggie burgers are a healthier choice than traditional hamburgers. They’re packed with fiber, plant-based protein, and essential nutrients while being lower in saturated fat. Plus, they sneak in extra veggies, helping kids develop a taste for nutritious foods.
The secrets to bringing veggie patties to the next level are
- Get creative with spices: Use what you have, like ground cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, and more, to add flavor.
- Fresh aromatics: Chopped cilantro or chives will make the patties really stand out.
- Use a bean combo: all black beans, half black and half chickpeas, a crazy combo of cannellini beans, pinto beans, and lentils—it’s up to you!
Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins
The sweet potato muffin recipe uses natural and whole ingredients.
Sweet potatoes are a nutritious addition to these muffins because they contain antioxidants, fiber, and potassium. To make the muffins even healthier, you can sub dark chocolate (rich in antioxidants and low in sugar) for milk chocolate chips.
You can find our Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins recipe here.
We’d Love to Hear From You!
At LIFT Enrichment, we are committed to making healthy cooking accessible and fun for all students. If you’re interested in bringing our cooking programs to your school, book a meeting with us today.
Previous Blogs:
6 Ways Your School Can Use Grants to Fund Afterschool Programs, Lessons in Aisle 5! Turning Grocery Shopping into a Life-Skills Adventure, Students Safe with 5 Essential Kitchen Safety Guidelines